A little Gandhigiri

All it takes is a little courage that one needs to muster to get things done when things drive us up the wall.

As M K Gandhi said ‘Be the change you want to see in the world,’ was aptly accentuated and justified in its truest sense while I was travelling to Mysore recently.

The principles of ‘Gandhigiri’ seem to sink into us in heart, mind and spirit in some way or the other, seldom if not often. Considering the comfort zone and the appendage to it with the weather being a tad sultry, the Volvo bus was the only solace.

Just as I embarked on my journey did I realise that the air condition was defunct, due to technical snags as affirmed by the conductor.

Adding to this predicament was a man in his mid 30s, constantly grumbling at the driver and the conductor to turn on the TV to ward off the ‘heat of the moment’ and add an entertainment quotient. While on the other hand there were mute spectators whoremained numb to the situation. Fugitive as they were, a few others were restlessly running up and down the aisle hoping for a miracle to happen.

Yet another obnoxious weed was trying to set things right with his despicable decibels in desperation at the conductor. There was also a government official who chose to remain taciturn amidst the cacophony, although he could have done something to subside the grim situation to which the AC refused to budge.

Just when I thought I had to put up with all the pandemonium that was striking hard until I reached the destination, did a miracle happen. A man in his late fifties who also seemed vexed, stood up for the cause politely and approached the conductor requesting for a reimbursement for the services that were not justified for the amount shelled out by each one of us. Even after a prolonged session of coaxing the conductor, helped very little.

After realising that the hemming and hawing doesn’t work, this man, with a never-say-die attitude, upon reaching the destination requested the passengers not to alight the bus until the money was refunded. Much to the chagrin, both the driver-conductor duo who tried to fleece us and fled the scene, were back soon since they had to oblige.

It was this moment that reinforced a surge of positive attitude coupled with persistence and dauntlessness that made all the difference that no other passenger dared to do. This incident reminds me of Mother Teresa’s quote ‘Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies.’ And a sense of renewed faith surged through me.